站住脚 (zhàn zhù jiǎ) — to stop; to halt (one's steps); to hold one's ground; to stand firm; to be tenable; to hold water (of arguments, theories)
Definition
Literally 'plant one's feet': 站住脚 is a figurative verb meaning to hold one's ground or for an argument to be tenable, not just to physically stop. As a separable verb, 站 and 脚 can split for negation (站不住脚) or aspect (站得住脚).
verb
to stopto halt (one's steps)to hold one's groundto stand firmto be tenableto hold water (of arguments, theories)
Examples
- 。Nǐ de shuō fǎ zhàn bú zhù jiǎo.Your argument doesn't hold water.
- ，。Tā tīng dào hòu miàn yǒu rén hǎn, lì kè zhàn zhù le jiǎo.He heard someone shout behind him and immediately stopped in his tracks.
- ，。Zài zhè jiàn shì shàng, tā shǐ zhōng zhàn bú zhù jiǎo.On this matter, he could never hold his ground.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.